The Oregon women’s basketball team beat UCLA 54-43 at McArthur Court Saturday afternoon, blah blah blah blah blah, [insert game highlight here].
Really, the details of how the Oregon women’s basketball team beat the Bruins aren’t too important.
What matters most is simply that the Ducks won.
They needed the victory, for the sake of confidence, after losing two straight games so early in the Pacific-10 Conference title chase.
“Losing two games in a row like that and knowing we had to have a win … it’s a fight to get back into our game,” senior forward Brianne Meharry said.
Saturday’s game definitely wasn’t pretty — Oregon shot less than 38 percent from the floor for its second straight outing — but a win is a win. The Ducks had a little more spring in their steps than they did, say, two nights prior after losing a heartbreaker to Southern California.
“Our confidence has been shaken, and rightfully so,” Meharry said. “All athletes go through that, and we have to fight through it. We have to take it one step at a time.”
“It’s always good when we win,” junior guard Jamie Craighead said. “I don’t think we lost any confidence in the USC loss. This team deals well with adversity, and I think this win showed that.”
But Oregon did look beaten after losing to the Trojans.
Thursday’s postgame atmosphere was capped when senior forward Lindsey Dion walked into Mac Court’s media room, bowed her head and told reporters that she didn’t have confidence in herself when she missed three late-game shots.
Ducks head coach Jody Runge knew there was a problem coming into Saturday’s matchup, comparing her team’s current funk to a three-game road losing skid during the nonconference schedule.
But they’ve said it all season, and they showed it on Saturday: You can’t keep a good Duck down.
Not point guard Kourtney Shreve, who was the straw in breaking UCLA’s back before leaving the game in the second half with a mild concussion.
Not center Jenny Mowe, who grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots while clogging up the Bruins’ inside offense. Or freshman forward Cathrine Kraayeveld, who overshadowed poor shooting by getting six boards and initiating defensive stops and UCLA turnovers.
Senior forward Angelina Wolvert, playing for the first time since injuring her left knee against Washington Jan. 18, returned to the lineup earlier than anyone predicted.
“I think we’re going to be fine,” said Wolvert, who quietly recorded seven points, three rebounds and a steal in 17 minutes. “A couple people had to work on their confidence, and I think they came back just fine.”
Runge said Wolvert’s presence was a shot in the arm for the lately lethargic Ducks.
“It’s very important emotionally for this team that she’s back on the floor and back on the mend,” Runge said.
Oregon’s character will be put to the test again next Thursday. The Ducks take on Arizona, then Arizona State on Saturday, in what Runge said will be the toughest road trip of the season.
The regrouping Ducks say they are ready.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” Wolvert said. “We need something to fire us up and I think this trip is going to do it.”
Fittingly, Oregon was struggling with its confidence toward the end of last season after losing at home to USC, when it traveled to the desert to take on the Arizona schools.
The result was a thrilling victory over the Wildcats — one of the craziest comeback wins in Oregon women’s basketball history — and an eventual, outright Pac-10 title.